bake - August 2012 - 6

news bites

Team USA Shines at Pastry Event
During two days of competition at the World Pastry Team Championships July 8-9 in Las Vegas, the stars aligned for Team USA as they won best dégustation and second place overall in the challenge inspired by astrology and horoscopes. The All-American team of National Pastry Champions consisted of team captain/chef Donald Wressell and The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago’s own chefs Scott Green, Joshua Johnson and alternate Della Gossett. After two years of preparation, including the qualifying National Pastry Team Championship in 2011, Team USA relished the level of international competition with top pastry chefs from ﬁve other countries and proudly represented the United States and the sponsors who supported them in a close match with overall winner Team Japan and third-place Team Netherlands.

Together in 2011, this collective of Team USA chefs made history by winning the National Pastry Team Championships and earning the honor to become the ﬁrst all American-born team to represent the United States in the World Pastry Championships. Taking their cue from the Chinese Zodiac, Team USA chose the sign of the Rooster, symbolizing conﬁdence and motivation, as inspiration for their chocolate and sugar showpieces. Using blown sugar claws, wattles, and comb; cast-sugar body; and pastillage feathers airbrushed black, white, and gold, Green portrayed a rooster spoiling for a ﬁght.  Johnson’s chocolate showpiece ﬂapped its wings, ﬂaunting motley feathers which had been expertly cut, shaped, and arrayed.  Each showpiece weighed between 30 and 40 pounds and had to be moved from their workstations to a display table before the ﬁnal judging took place.

RBA Honors Kalupa
The Retail Bakers of America announces the 2012 Class of Emeritus Members, which include Michael Kalupa. He will be honored during the general session at All Things Baking Sept. 9-11 in Houston, TX. Established in 2007, the emeritus membership is designed to honor those individuals who inﬂuenced the association and the industry. With numerous baking and decorating professionals, and those of the equipment supplier community, who continue to be active and contribute to the association and the industry, RBA decided to recognize their work by establishing this honor. Kalupa started in the baking industry at a very young age traveling with his father, Bud Kalupa, a salesman at Karp’s Milwaukee Bakers Supply. When his father was transferred to run the Karp’s branch in Phoenix, he worked for his father during summers and weekends. After a short stint in college Mike went to work for Karp’s on a full time basis and was transferred back to Milwaukee to manage the warehouse and transportation department. In 1979 he and his father bought a bakery in Tampa, FL. After a few years Mike, along with his wife Susan, bought his father’s share and they took sole ownership of Kalupa’s Bakery.  Kalupa became very active with the Southeastern Retail Bakers Association (SRBA) where he served on the Board of Directors and was elected president. Through his service with SRBA he had the privilege of working with great bakers from around the Southeast United States. he was then elected to serve on the RBA Board of Directors.  During this

The Chinese Zodiac-inspired chocolate showpiece weighed more than 30 lbs and ﬂapped its wings.

06 < AUG 2012 | bakemag.com
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bake - August 2012

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